


ξανακάνω (remade)

by BeautifulTendencies



Category: Aquaman (2018)
Genre: Age Difference, Angst, F/M, Happy Ending, M/M, One-Sided Attraction, Pining, Slow Burn, or at least as slow burn as 1800 words can be, until its not
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-22
Updated: 2019-08-22
Packaged: 2020-09-23 17:31:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20343967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeautifulTendencies/pseuds/BeautifulTendencies
Summary: A peek from Nereus' perspective throughout the course of the movie (and some added parts) depicting the underlying romantic tension between Orm and Nereus.





	ξανακάνω (remade)

**Author's Note:**

> I, of course, only saw this movie once a year ago so here we are with plenty of mistakes I'm sure.
> 
> TW (spoiler) AGE DIFFERENCE for Orm having a childhood crush on his friend's father, although nothing really happens between them until he's however old he is at the end of the Aquaman movie.

The first time Nereus notices the young prince’s admiring gaze is not long after his mother’s death; not long after Orm has become a man and officially named heir to the crown.

He has come to collect Mera, as she is at the age when it is no longer proper to keep her and her young betrothed together, and she must learn her own people and leadership of them. She has begun to show promise for talents further than that of an ordinary Atlantean, and in these skills, too, she must be tutored.

As he nods to his fellow king, and speaks niceties and thanks for the care and keeping of his daughter, he notices the bright blue eyes trained intently on him. The boy looks more sallow than the last time he saw him. He was undoubtedly still mourning the loss of his mother, and clinging to a father who saw in him as not only an heir but a constant reminder of Atlanna’s betrayal.

It is only as he turns to leave, his hand on Mera’s shoulder, that he notices the young prince’s gaze flick quickly to his backside and back up.

_ Interesting _ , he thinks. 

* * *

  
  


It was the last day of Orm’s visit with Mera in Xebel when he cornered Nereus in his study.

His eyes flicked quickly over his feet, Nereus’ face, and the view of the city outside the room. Nereus could guess at what was coming.

“Sir, I--” He winced to himself. “King Nereus, I adore your daughter.”

“Then why do you look like you’re swallowing plastic in the surface world?” he asked, amused.

“It’s because I adore your daughter that I have to break off the arrangement. I don’t love her, at least, not like that, and she deserves better.” He took a steadying breath and met Nereus’ eyes. “Besides, I’m in love with someone else.”

“Oh? Have you discussed this with your father?”

“N-no, I came to the conclusion recently and I thought it better if I did this in person . . .” Orm trailed off.

“You’re right.”

“I am?”

“Mera deserves the best. She deserves someone who loves her, and will be devoted to her, and make her happy, and whom she loves in return. But she’s also the future ruler of Xebel. As much as she deserves, her status requires her to make sacrifices. Solidifying the friendship between our nations is far more important.”

“And what if,” Orm wet his lips nervously, “it was possible to solidify the alliance between our nations without my engagement to your daughter?”

Nereus moved until he floated directly in front of Orm, placing a hand gently on his shoulder. He waited until Orm looked up into his eyes to speak, his young face showing only careful hope. 

“It’s not.”

  
  


* * *

  
  


“We have been hiding long enough. The time has come for Atlantis to rise again.” Orm’s eyes betrayed his carefully restrained emotion. Nereus barely kept himself from smiling. Orm was still practically a child, trying to step out of his father’s shadow and distinguish himself as a leader of his own making. Nereus remembered going through a similar phase. It amused him that the first time Orm approached him in an official capacity, as a king, was to spout propaganda. 

Orm insults his intelligence in vailing his proposal as an honor, and displays his arrogance and greed in the request. An alliance would fulfill his needs for an army just as well, had he not also wished for yet another title. 

It is easy to rile Orm with the mention of his mongrel brother. He is young, and hasn’t the perspective to remain objective in a political meeting, nor the experience to more closely guard his aims and vulnerabilities. Even without his hard-won political competence, he would have known exactly where to push.

The attack is a surprise--the first hint that Orm might have potential after all, even as it is apparent that he is the orchestrator. The foe was far too easily defeated to be anything other than planned in advance. Still, Orm helps him shift the rubble off his leg, and in return, he fires at a missile Orm would have had difficulty evading.

Though mildly insulting that he was not expected to have picked up on the nature of the attack, Orm is not wrong in his assessment of the dangers of the surface-dwellers, and a good warrior besides. His brashness and ambition would be tempered with Nereus’ influence at his side. He swam to face Orm once more, the wreckage of the submarine sinking slowly behind him.

“I’m not trying to start a war. The war has already begun,” Orm said forcefully.

“Then it’s time to send them a message.”

  
  


* * *

  
  


Nereus watched the tight corners of Orm’s mouth and eyes as he entered the guest quarters, hands in parade rest behind his back, though he no longer wore his armor. He had opted instead for a simple tunic. He looked younger, more vulnerable.

“She’s dead,” he said simply, his voice strained and sounding close to breaking.

Nereus bowed his head in his hands, overwhelmed; a rare display of emotion for him. 

He knew that Orm was only attached to his daughter by their shared childhood and engagement. At best, their relationship was a friendly partnership; at worst, it was mutual acceptance and distaste of their circumstances. It was not love, or at least not the romantic kind, that drove the betrayal-fuelled rage and grief Orm felt.

His own deep grief was not nearly as conflicted. Mera had always been strong-willed, and had a far more defined moral compass than Nereus himself did. He knew it had been partly due to her age, but he hoped that with more experience, both would serve her well as she ruled Xebel and Atlantis. Now that was no longer a possibility.

When he looked up again at Orm, he was closer than Nereus expected, and he looked deep into Orm’s eyes as he felt a hand settle gently on his shoulder. Orm’s other hand slowly rose to cup Nereus’ jaw.

“Orm,” Nereus said, his own hand settling against the pulse in Orm’s wrist. He opened his mouth to speak again, but the building tightness in his throat blocked any sound that might have come out. He instead tilted his head so his forehead leaned against Orm’s. He felt himself shudder. They stayed there for a few moments, breathing together, and sharing in their pain.

“Nereus,” Orm breathed, and tilted his head so their lips slotted together.

Nereus felt the pulse under his fingers stutter with his own.

The kiss was soft and chaste, too full of their mutual grief to be anything but a small comfort, and they separated after a long moment.

They spent the night together, fully clothed and pressed close.

  
  


* * *

  
  


“Mera’s getting all she deserves after all,” Orm said humorlessly from the floor of his cell. “A man she wants to be with, who wants to be with her. A good man, who will treat her well and respect her. And she didn’t even have to sacrifice the alliance between Xebel and Atlantis.”

“She is,” Nereus agreed quietly. “I’m very proud of her.”

“Has Arthur decided yet?”

“No.”

“He should just kill me already!” Orm burst out suddenly. “He won’t even allow me the decency to die with honor!”

“Do you want to die that badly?”

He deflated. “There’s nothing else to live for. The only reason for my existence has been taken from me.”

Nereus considered his response carefully. “The only reason Arthur has not made an official decision on your punishment is that he is seeking a way that follows Atlantian laws and allows you to keep your life and freedom to the best extent he can. Should I tell him to stop looking?”

He didn’t think he had ever seen Orm this confused or lost.

“If he succeeds, you’ll have a unique opportunity. You have the chance to remake yourself into anything you want to be, outside of the weight of your entire kingdom’s expectations. Have you really never considered what you would have done had you the freedom to choose your own path?”

Orm’s mouth worked like he wanted to say something, and Nereus waited patiently for several moments.

“Just think about it.” He turned to go.

“Wait!”

“Yes?”

“I--”, Orm grimaced. “Tell him not to stop looking, please.”

* * *

  
  


Orm was allowed to learn of his fate with the rest of the nation, and kneeled on the floor with his head bowed before Arthur.

He could hear the whispers of his people behind him.

His half-brother looked incredibly serious, in a way Orm didn’t think he had ever seen him.

“Orm Marius,” Arthur began, and the voices quieted. “Former King of Atlantis. You are declared a traitor. As such, your title is stripped from you. You are no longer a citizen of Atlantis, and will not have any of the protections your previous status as such would have allowed you. You are banished from Atlantis, and may never cross its borders again without express permission from the crown.

“Is there anyone who will vouch for him,” Arthur’s voice boomed from the throne as he addressed the rest of the hall. “Who will take him under their wing, and suffer the consequences of any of his transgressions as their own?”

“I will,” Nereus said.

“Then he is yours to do with as you wish. ” Arthur broke into a knowing smile and winked. “Good luck. I have a feeling you’ll need it.”

* * *

  
  


“I am sorry,” Nereus said he walked with the newly-unchained blonde back to his guest rooms in Atlantis. They would leave for Xabel the following morning. “I know how much you love your nation, and it is unlikely you will ever be able to see it again once we go. But this is the best we could do.”

“I understand. And thank you. I swear I will never put you in a position that you regret vouching for me.”

The Atlantian guard detail that would follow them until they exited the kingdom stayed outside the rooms as Nereus and Orm entered. The door fell quietly shut behind them.

“Have you thought about what you’ll do?”

“Nereus,” Orm started, an unusually forthright expression on his face. “The only thing that I allowed myself to want outside what was best for my kingdom and people was you. The rest, I hope, will follow.”

“Oh,” Nereus said.

“I am grateful to you for what you have done for me. I won’t ask anything from you that you wouldn’t willingly give. I am happy to belong to you, in any capacity you’ll allow.”

He no longer looked nervous and conflicted, as he had when he had first confessed to Nereus so long ago. He was calm and confident, invested in what he was saying, speaking truly for himself in a way he had never been able to before with another king who may have differing motives from his own.

Nereus felt a stirring deep in his belly. He smiled. 

“Then let me have you.”

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed it! Please leave a comment I'll love you for as long as Orm has pined after Nereus.
> 
> Thank you for reading <3


End file.
